Cayman board directors, and Cayman, can no longer ignore other jurisdictions’ rules

The trend to increased regulation has changed how investment managers, along with their independent board, are operating. Today, board members are required to know a lot more about the laws and regulations where the fund manager is based, jurisdictions where they invest and jurisdictions where they raise capital. As a consequence, independent fund directors face a lot more scrutiny and pressure. But, most industry experts agree that corporate governance and board composition has measurably improved, for example by including more directors with an actual investment management background or from different geographies.

"One of the biggest impacts within the Cayman Islands from a director’s perspective is the increased onshore regulations that we need to deal with today," said Gary Linford, founder of HighWater, a boutique director services business, during the recent Opalesque Cayman Roundtable.

Even if most of the onshore regulations ("whether it is short-selling rules in Hong Kong, the AIFM Directive in Europe, FATCA, CFTC registration, SEC registration or new distributor rules in Switzerland") are directed at investment managers, the boards of directors to Cayman funds cannot ignore them, he continued. They must ensure the contracted service providers comply with them. In the past, Cayman-f......................